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How to pronounce optional in American English
“optional” pronunciation by American speakers
Listen to optional the way American speakers say it — in real sentences from public video clips that play here, on YouTongue.
Hear “optional” in: all accents
“optional” in real sentences — American speakers
499 clips in the index. Clips come from public YouTube videos — parliaments, government agencies and independent channels.
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the protocol that is optional monitoring or optional surveillance.
CDC
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Recommended, not optional.
FEMA
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That's entirely optional.
National Archives
Why real speech
A dictionary gives you one careful reading of optional. Conversation gives you the stress, the vowel reduction and the speed that people actually use — and they differ between accents. YouTongue plays the surrounding sentence, so you hear the word in the rhythm it belongs to.